City of Newcastle

Employment by industry (Census)

Health Care and Social Assistance is the largest employer in the City of Newcastle, making up 21.6% of total employment.

Census employment data presents the number of persons employed in each industry sector (full-time and part-time) in the City of Newcastle regardless of where they live. By comparing the number of jobs in each industry sector to a regional benchmark, you can clearly see local economic strengths and weaknesses. By looking at how the number of jobs in each industry is changing over time, you can track how the structure of the local economy is changing. Go to the Employment locations page to see where employment is taking place across the City of Newcastle.

Note: Census employment figures are known to undercount employment by varying amounts depending on the Census year. All Census counts are an undercount of total population, and in addition, some people don’t state their workforce status or industry. Also counts by place of work exclude those with no fixed workplace address. For this reason, it is recommended that for total job numbers, users look at the Employment by industry (Total) modelled estimates which are updated on an annual basis, and based on the ABS Labour Force survey, less prone to undercount. The Census counts by industry are included here for a greater level of industry detail (3-digit ANZSIC).

Data source

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – Census 2016 & 2021 – by place of work

Current benchmark:
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Employment (Census) by industry sector
City of Newcastle20212016Change
IndustryNumber%. Regional NSWNumber%. Regional NSW2016 - 2021
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing5810.55.46040.66.0-23
Mining1,1151.02.59801.02.4+135
Manufacturing6,0425.55.95,7825.96.2+260
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services1,6551.51.31,6921.71.3-37
Construction7,6466.98.06,3636.57.1+1,283
Wholesale Trade2,2862.11.92,2422.32.0+44
Retail Trade8,4307.610.08,2658.511.0+165
Accommodation and Food Services7,8667.18.37,3747.68.6+492
Transport, Postal and Warehousing5,5995.13.65,0415.23.8+558
Information Media and Telecommunications1,0701.00.61,2401.30.8-170
Financial and Insurance Services5,0644.61.84,1504.32.0+914
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services1,5121.41.31,4301.51.4+82
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services8,7497.94.57,1377.34.4+1,612
Administrative and Support Services2,7802.52.82,6482.72.9+132
Public Administration and Safety6,3885.86.66,2246.46.7+164
Education and Training10,4549.59.69,1799.49.3+1,275
Health Care and Social Assistance23,82721.616.918,87919.415.1+4,948
Arts and Recreation Services1,2901.21.21,1901.21.2+100
Other Services3,9453.63.93,6293.74.0+316
Industry not classified3,9203.63.83,2633.43.8+657
Total persons110,222100.0100.097,312100.0100.0+12,910

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).

Please refer to specific data notes for more information
Did you know? By clicking/tapping on a category in the chart below you will be able to drilldown to the sub categories.
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Dominant groups

An analysis of the jobs held by the local workers in the City of Newcastle in 2021 shows the three most popular industry sectors were:

  • Health Care and Social Assistance (23,827 people or 21.6%)
  • Education and Training (10,454 people or 9.5%)
  • Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (8,749 people or 7.9%)

In combination these three fields accounted for 43,030 people in total or 39.0% of the local workers.

In comparison, Regional NSW employed 16.9% in Health Care and Social Assistance; 9.6% in Education and Training and 4.5% in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services.

The major differences between the jobs held by local workers of the City of Newcastle and Regional NSW were:

  • A smaller percentage of local workers employed in the field of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (0.5% compared to 5.4%)
  • A larger percentage of local workers employed in the field of Health Care and Social Assistance (21.6% compared to 16.9%)
  • A larger percentage of local workers employed in the field of Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (7.9% compared to 4.5%)
  • A larger percentage of local workers employed in the field of Financial and Insurance Services (4.6% compared to 1.8%)

Emerging groups

The largest changes in the jobs held by local workers between 2016 and 2021 in the City of Newcastle were for those employed in:

  • Health Care and Social Assistance (+4,948 local workers)
  • Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (+1,612 local workers)
  • Construction (+1,283 local workers)
  • Education and Training (+1,275 local workers)

City of Newcastle

economic profile